What Filmmakers Get Wrong: The Essential Guide to Avoiding Bad Movies

For the most part, we can all tell when a movie is, to put it lightly, subpar to our expectations. Of course, there are those who wait for reviews to shape their opinions about a film. But let’s ask the question: What makes a movie truly bad? To answer this, we must first acknowledge how difficult it is to make a good film. For it to work, everything has to align: writing, cinematography, performances, production design, editing, and more. There are a handful of “perfect films” out there, and even those have their mistakes. (Calling a film perfect is subjective; for some, a perfect movie could be Shrek 2, while for others, it might be The Shawshank Redemption.) Let’s focus on those instances when the majority of people can collectively agree that a movie has missed the mark. What are some common factors that lead to bad films?

It’s Messy
It’s that simple. We’ve all experienced movies that try to cram too much plot into their runtime. A prime example is Babylon by Damien Chazelle. While it is an ambitious project that is visually stylistic and sprinkled with genuinely great moments, it ultimately struggles to convey a clear theme. In my opinion, it would have…